Page 41 of Quest for her Knights (The Lost Souls of Dyconia #5)

Chapter twenty-eight

Elora

I smooth the front of my dress down nervously as I look at myself in the mirror.

“It’s time to face the music,” I tell myself.

This morning I woke up between Draven and Arrow, and the events of last night came rushing back to me, filling me with excitement and happiness.

Nothing happened other than some good morning kissing that was far too short for my liking.

Arrow and Blaze must have switched spots sometime during the night.

They left me to get dressed, and the reality of the situation came crashing back in.

I still don’t know where Ranger and I sit.

The last time I heard him speak, he had said some really hurtful things, and I’m still not convinced he wants anything to do with me.

It will make traveling awkward for sure .

I drop my head back and groan. Traveling . What would that look like now? Do we still have to see more lords?

I groan again, realizing we’re currently in the home of the Shadowcross lords, and now I have to figure out what to say to get us out of here. It wasn’t like they had been mean or anything, either.

Opening the door, I step out into my suite where all my knights are lounging around. I’m not sure that I can really call Ranger mine, but he’s still the knight in charge of my protection, so I think it still applies.

I swallow my nerves as I step further into the room to address them all. “I don’t want to meet any more lords.”

Arrow grins at me, and Draven’s eyes light up with approval as he tells me, “Then you don’t have to.”

“I guess I should go tell them that we’re leaving.”

“You don’t have to,” Blaze says, moving to stand in front of me. “I can tell them for you.”

I shake my head but smile at his offer. “They have been kind to us, I think I should tell them myself.”

“Alright, we’ll all come with you, to be safe,” Draven says as they all stand and get in place around me. I realize they are wearing their full knight gear today, their chain mail clothing on full display.

As we head down the hall, I whisper to Arrow, who’s beside me. “Why are you guys dressed like that? ”

“So far, the lords here have seemed pleasant enough, but we want to be prepared in case they react poorly to you leaving.”

Well, shit.

I swallow nervously as we step into the dining room and find them all seated around the table. They stand when they see me, and I see their amused eyes taking in my knights attire.

Kael pulls out a chair for me but I don’t sit, I stay a few paces away as I address them and try not to fidget.

“I truly appreciate your hospitality and the kindness you’ve shown me, but I’m afraid we will be departing this morning.”

Rafe snorts as he reaches down to grab his cup and take a sip.

“Is something funny?” I ask in confusion.

He shakes his head but it’s Darian who answers. “It’s just that we had a bet going on how long you’d last.”

“Excuse me?” I ask in frustration. “What exactly were you betting on?”

“How long would it take you and your knights to realize you’re in love with each other.”

My jaw drops open, and my eyes widen in disbelief as a series of strange sounds escapes my mouth.

“Y-you knew?” I ask when I can finally form words again.

“It was so obvious,” he says with a smirk. “My bet was on yesterday, that’s why I tried to kiss you. Worked like a charm, too.”

My eyes widen even further in shock. He was egging Draven on .

“You… You didn’t even want to kiss me?”

“Look, princess. You seem lovely, but you’re clearly already taken. If he hadn’t stepped in it would have been no hardship to kiss you.”

“Thanks… I think,” I say with a frown, feeling a little confused.

“I think it would have happened even sooner if that one was in the room with us,” Lucien says, pointing to Ranger. “The tension between you two is thick enough to cut with a knife.”

“Well, on that note, I think we should get going,” I say, nervously pointing over my shoulder. If they see attraction between us, it was only on my end, and that’s embarrassing enough that it spurs me into action to get out of here.

“Please, you can all join us for breakfast, I’m sure you have long days of travel in front of you,” Evren says, gesturing to all the vacant seats that would seat me and my knights at the table.

I glance up at Draven in question, but Ranger answers, finally stepping back into his role as my head guard.

“Thank you, your offer is very generous and it would be good for the princess to get in a full meal before we depart.”

Blaze guides me to a chair between him and Arrow, while Draven and Ranger sit across from us.

The lords start to ask the knights about places we’ve been and the state of affairs in other parts of the realm. I tune them out and focus on the food, avoiding eye contact with Ranger. Every time I glance up, he’s looking at me intently but I have no idea what he’s thinking.

He could be mad, jealous, happy, constipated…. It’s so hard to read him sometimes. I’ll be happy when we can leave this table and I can avoid looking at him for a while.

“I missed riding with you,” I tell Arrow as we ride through the forest.

“Me too,” he says before placing a kiss on the side of my neck.

“Where are we going, anyway? Do we have to turn around and go back the way we came?”

“No, we’re looping around the desert now. If we continue, we will come up the east side of Dyconia and then head north until we get back home. Ranger said he knew somewhere we could stop for a few days though. Somewhere a little secluded.” I nod, trying to picture Dyconia in my head.

“You know,” Arrow says, distracting me. “I’ve always loved your short dresses, but now I’m starting to really appreciate how accessible they are.”

“Accessible?” I ask in confusion. His hand slides down from where it’s been settled across my stomach, down my thigh to the edge of my dress, then he slips it back up until his fingers slide across the front of my panties. “Arrow!” I gasp in surprise .

I feel him grin against my neck and I reach a hand back to hold the back of his neck.

“Mmm,” he moans as his fingers find their way under the seam of my panties, and he strokes them through my damp folds. “I don’t think I can wait until we stop. Will you let me touch you now?”

“Yes!” I gasp as his finger circles my entrance.

“Do you think you can stay quiet so it can stay our little secret?”

“Uh-huh,” I whimper as he sinks a finger slowly into me.

“Good girl.” I melt against him and he presses a second finger into me.

It takes him less than two minutes to get my body completely worked up and I turn my head to kiss him, so he can muffle my cries as my pussy convulses around his fingers, my orgasm shooting through me with an uncontrollable wave of pleasure.

When I come down from my high, my body sags with exhaustion and he pulls his fingers up and sucks them into his mouth. “Mmm. I can’t wait to taste you right from the source.”

“Me either,” I whisper as I pant heavily. He laughs and I glance around at the others, but nobody seems to be watching us. I guess we got away with it.